


Skravling

by ILarbLoki



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avenger Loki (Marvel), Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Just Friends, Loki & Tony Stark Friendship, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Odin (Marvel)'s A+ Parenting, POV Loki (Marvel), POV Tony Stark, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, but the iron man movies did, none of the movies with Loki happened
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:47:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23747815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ILarbLoki/pseuds/ILarbLoki
Summary: Loki had grown accustomed to getting his way. So naturally, when a man stepped in front of him in line, he had something to say. What he hadn’t known, or cared about, was this man as a millionaire superhero in charge of one of the world’s largest and highest-grossing companies, Stark Enterprises.
Relationships: Loki & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 7
Kudos: 36





	1. hån

**Author's Note:**

> I was in the middle of trying to write the next chapter to 'All that Black is Gold', when I happened to look at some of the random prompts I had, (I am in a serious writing block with Chapter 2). One of them caught my eye and, as most authors know, when you get the feeling to write something, you have to write it. So, here is some random thing I wrote instead of what I've been trying to write for a freakin 'long time. I wrote this in like an hour or so at 3 a.m. (I'm sure that's normal...right?), so, it might be really bad with horrible grammar and stuff. But, maybe it's not that bad? Who knows. Hope you like it!

Loki had grown accustomed to getting his way. So naturally, when a man stepped in front of him in line, he had something to say. What he hadn’t known, or cared about, was this man as a millionaire superhero in charge of one of the world’s largest and highest-grossing companies, Stark Enterprises. Just because Anthony Stark was a genius with money didn’t mean that he could cut in line. Loki had been waiting for a long time for his order to be taken, and if this man thought he was going to extend that time, he needed to think again. Of course, he also hadn’t been expecting the man to apologize, pay for Loki’s order as well as his, and invite him to join him for lunch. Loki accepted; Free food was always welcome and the cafe was crowded. He didn’t want to eat outside or sit next to some unwelcoming stranger. So now Loki sat across from an infuriating, nonchalant businessman who was currently shoving a doughnut in his mouth.  
“This is my favorite place,” He said around mouthfuls, “I usually just send Happy or someone else to get me stuff, but I like this place. It’s great, don’t you think?”  
Loki just nodded as he bit into his sandwich. When he’d found out that Stark was going to pay for his food, he quickly ordered a more pricey meal. He may be well off, but he was never going to spend more than $20 on a sandwich unless it wasn’t his money. Especially, if this person who was offering the said money was rude. Loki was pleased that the sandwich tasted as well as it had cost; This place never shirked on quality and taste.  
Stark either didn’t notice Loki’s lack of interest in the conversation, or he didn’t care, because he just rambled on. “So, obviously, you know who I am. I mean, who wouldn’t? I’m me. I’m Tony Stark, the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. I’m flipping Iron Man! And, yes, I did say flipping, there are kids here, you know.” He turned to wink at a woman walking by. She blushed and hurried out the door.  
Loki could feel the ego radiating from Stark, it was almost tangible. He was pretty sure no one was as egotistical than him, even himself, which is saying something. But, Loki was hiding insecurities behind his facade, so maybe Stark was hiding something as well. Loki wondered what that could be. This man had his life handed to him on a silver platter. There couldn’t possibly be any cracks hidden inside him, could there? Loki hummed, contemplating.  
Stark took this as a confirmation that Loki knew who he was. “Anyway, what I’m getting at is that I don’t know who you are.”  
Loki blinked at that, not expecting the pompous rant to stop, especially to address him. He’d assumed that Stark was only talking to him so that he could do just that, talk. Apparently, there was more to this conversation then Loki had anticipated. Quietly wondering what these intentions could be, Loki just looked at him. He was willing to play this game with Stark, but only if Stark played his game as well.  
After a second, Stark caved in, “Tell me about yourself. I did just buy you lunch. The least you could do is introduce yourself.”  
Loki smiled, Stark had just accepted. He loved a good challenge and wondered if Stark would be an equal match, unlike his naive brother. “I believe the reason you bought me lunch was that you had been rude.”  
Stark gaped at him, then stepping in stride with Loki responded, “Yes, and you buying a more expensive dish was a fair enough payback I believe.”  
Loki grinned, so far Stark was doing well in this mind and word game. “I’m surprised you noticed that.” He let the man have that victory. “Very well, I’m Loki Odinson. Nice to make your acquaintance, Mr. Stark.” Then, he looked down, pretending to be done with the conversation and finished his sandwich.  
There were several moments of quiet as Stark waited for more. Loki could hear the gears turning in his head when he realized he wasn’t going to get anything other than that and if he didn’t say something soon the conversation was going to die. Loki took a slow sip of his tea. It had cooled down quite a bit, but it still was warm enough that he didn’t care.  
“Loki Odinson. That’s a unique name,” Stark prompted, hoping to get something out of this. Loki only sipped his tea in response. The man was going to have to try a bit harder to get Loki to react. Stark, seeming to realize this, continued, “Is it Dutch? Wait, don’t tell me, I’m going to figure this one out.” Loki started. He had been about to answer, but it seemed that Stark wanted to play another game. This was even better than he had expected. Thor would never have tried to guess. He would have wanted answers, then and there. Loki was starting to respect the businessman, despite the rudeness he had shown earlier. “It’s got to be something European. The whole ending in ‘son’ is very European…” Stark was muttering to himself and it was interesting to hear the genius think. Loki was quite amused and he felt his irritation ebbing away. Stark eyed him, “Yeah, he’s most definitely European. Not Dutch, that name doesn’t fit with that. Maybe Scottish? No. German? No, not that either,” He stopped to address Loki again, “Your first name, does it have the same origin as your last name?”  
Loki nodded, chuckling, “Yes, it does.”  
This seemed to spur Stark on, who quickly continued in his speculation. “Loki...Loki...such a unique name...should make this easier...unless it’s a nickname,” He looked up, “It’s not a nickname is it?” Loki shook his head, “Why does it sound so familiar...Loki Odinson...Come on Stark, think…” Suddenly, he sat up, “Norwegian?”  
Loki chuckled, “Close enough,”  
Stark hummed, “So, you were named after the Norse God of evil or, whatever.”  
At this Loki almost growled. He was not the God of evil. He was the God of chaos, mischief, self-serving neutrality. None of those things were inherently evil. Sure, some of those things hurt others, but sometimes he did good things as well. He was the God of stories and of time, of other dimensions. He was so much more, but others always saw him as the God of evil. He caught himself and smiled, “God of mischief,” He corrected, “And, not exactly.” He supposed he could have agreed, but the God of lies even tells the truth from time to time.  
Stark chuckled, “Are you from around here?”  
“Not exactly,” Loki knew that Stark wanted answers but what was he going to say? ‘No, I’m not from around here, I’m actually a space Viking and I live on a floating rock in space called Asgard.’ That was laughable. Plus, he and Stark were still playing their game. He guessed he could have said something less vague like ‘I’m from Norway’ or even just a simple ‘No’. But he felt like he needed Stark to dig for the answers he wanted.  
“Not exactly? That’s all you’re going to give me?” Loki raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Fine,” Stark grumbled, “Could you at least tell me what you do for a living? You seem to have some money on you. You’d have to, to own a suit like that.” Loki smiled, he quite liked this suit and had several more like it at home. It had cost quite a bit, but Stark was right, he did have money, and quite a lot of it. “What I don’t get, is that I know every wealthy person in this city and several from other places, but I don’t know you. I’ve never even seen your face, let alone heard of you.”  
Loki smirked, “You’ve heard plenty of me.” He ignored Stark’s question, and while he obviously noticed, he didn’t seem to care, more intent on what Loki had just said.  
“What do you mean? I just told you, I’ve never heard of Loki Odinson until now.”  
Loki laughed, “I’m sure you have. How else could you have guessed the origin of my name?” Then, deciding that he’d said enough, he stood up. Before Stark could respond, Loki slid a business card over to him. “Thank you for the meal and conversation, Mr. Stark. I’m quite looking forward to seeing you again.” And with that, he sauntered off.


	2. Søk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied. I can’t get enough of this storyline. There isn’t even a plot yet, but here I am, writing this instead of a story of which I’ve figured out the plot to 15 chapters in the future. I’m finally out of my creative dry spell, but of course, I still have writer’s block for a series I was, and still am, really excited about writing. Oh, well. As I said, I have no plot for this, so who knows where it’s going to go; I don’t even know. Maybe it’ll end without a climax. Honestly, there probably isn’t a climax. It’s probably just going to be a dull story about Loki and Stark making quips to each other and trying to get on top in an endless mind game. And yes, I’m writing another part of this. It’s already almost done. *Ashamed of my addiction to this*

Tony was about to tell the man, ‘You can call me Tony’ but he’d already left. Tony realized he’d been too slow to respond. It had been a while since he’d felt this way. He usually was the one in control of the conversation, tugging along others as they sputtered for a response. But, this time, Odinson was definitely in control. He had wound Tony around his finger and had been playing with him the whole time. The conversation seemed to be a game of sorts to him. Tony had felt the challenge emanating from the man.  
When he had cut in line, he’d expected the man to be annoyed, but he was Tony Stark, no one was going to say anything about it; Odinson had, and he hadn’t even reacted to Tony being, well, Tony. When Tony, who was curious about the only person who’d stood up to him in a while, offered to buy his food he hadn’t expected the man to agree. Odinson looked like someone with a large ego, but a fragile one; One that, if someone did anything for them, would disappear in a second. Instead, he had agreed. He even chose a pricier dish, taking advantage of Tony’s endless bank account. The only reason Tony noticed was that he had been studying the man intently and had seen his emerald green eyes dart up to the menu board and scan it for a quick second. He’d been about to order when Tony had stepped in, so he had already known what he’d wanted already. Then, the man surprised Tony again when he agreed to join him for lunch. It wasn’t that Tony didn’t want him to, he wouldn’t have asked otherwise, but Odinson had seemed rather irritated with him.  
Tony liked this man, he was an enigma, something new in his life. He wanted to get inside his head, maybe even befriend him. That would take a while though, Tony had trust issues; Only this man seemed like he’d make Tony’s life more exciting, so he was willing to push some of his issues to the side. But first, he had to get this man to like him. He had tried some friendly banter and when that didn’t work, he reverted to his usual, ‘I’m Tony Stark, so of course, you should like me’ rant. Odinson had been unimpressed. Finally, he had given in, implying that he wanted to know Odinson better. That hadn’t even done anything. The more and more Tony had talked to him, the more and more Tony had wanted to know him. Every question Tony asked was answered vaguely and only brought more questions. It excited and confused him. Odinson had matched him wit for wit and had won.  
As Tony replayed the conversation, which he was realizing more and more that it had been a game, a competition of wits, instead of an everyday exchange, he chuckled to himself. A couple of people shot him a look, which he returned with his ‘I’m Tony Stark, I can laugh by myself if I want’ look.  
The most confusing and intriguing part of this chat was the last thing Odinson had said, ‘How else could you have guessed the origin of my name?’. What did that mean? Tony was sure that he’d been playing with him, but everything that the man had said had a purpose and was probably true; So there must be a hidden meaning to that statement.  
That’s when he remembered he had a business card in his hand and he recalled what had followed Odinson’s remark, ‘I’m quite looking forward to seeing you again’. Looking at the card for the first time, Tony realized that the man had said it like he was going to see him again. He hadn’t driven this curious puzzle away. Odinson had been impressed by his wit and was willing to have a second go. Tony smiled and quickly left the cafe.  
As soon as he arrived at his lab, he sat down and read the card for the first time. He couldn’t read anything on it. Sure, he could read the number etched at the bottom. But the rest was in another language or something, ‘Geimfyrirtæki’ was front and center with ‘ᛒᚢᚱᛁᛋᛟᚾ ᚲᛟ’ underneath. The watermark of the card was of two intricate snakes wrapped around each other in a double “S” like shape. As Tony moved the card, the ink shimmered from green, gold, and black. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought it was magic. But, it was just some fancy metallic ink. He flipped it over and there was a symbol of a tree, its branches intertwining together to form a circle around it, merging back into the roots. In the center of the tree-circle were three interconnected triangles.  
“Jarvis?”  
“Yes, sir?”  
“What language is this?” He held out the card to one of the AI’s many sensors.  
“I believe that is Icelandic and Futhark”  
“Futhark? Never heard of that one.”  
“It is a series of runes used by the Vikings. The language is not used today.”  
Tony chuckled, “Seems Odinson is embracing his heritage. What does it say, Jarvis?”  
“Aerospace Company, Burison Co.”  
“Jarvis, search up Burison Co. Oh, and while you’re at it, search up the symbol on the front.”  
“Of course, sir. It is the Nordic symbol for Loki, the Norse God of mischief.”  
“He is so narcissistic; Of course, I can’t say anything about that, can I, Jarvis?”  
If the AI could laugh, Tony was sure it would have, “No, sir, you are just as narcissistic as the worst of them.”  
“What about the back?”  
“It seems to be Yggdrasil, the world-tree in Norse mythology, along with a valknut, a symbol for ‘those that have fallen in battle’.”  
He hummed, “Okay, we’ll crack that code later, what do you have for me on Burison Co.?”  
The holographic screen in front of him flashed to several news lines all written in another language, which Jarvis quickly translated. ‘Lead in renewable energy’ read one. ‘Burison; First to find energy from space?’ read another. One titled ‘Will space be the next big retail?’ caught his eye. He opened it and quickly scanned through it. Burison Co. was a rising company in Norway that focused on space; Mainly the energy and resources that could be obtained from it. While they hadn’t sent anything up yet, they have started to create some very powerful and ingenious rockets and other machines. They also helped make and improve jet engines and had started their own airline. After some more research, he found they had a building in New York. It had just been leased to them a week ago. Maybe Odinson was overseeing the business here. Tony wondered why his namesake’s symbol was on the business card. Did he make some just for him or were those the cards for the whole company?  
“Jarvis, search up ‘Loki Odinson’ concerning Burison Co.”  
“Nothing is found, sir.”  
Tony frowned, “Search ‘Odinson’ then.”  
Several articles came up. Every single one of them involved Thor Odinson, the founder of Burison, but no Loki. Tony would have assumed they were brothers, but Thor didn’t look anything like Loki. One article mentioned that Thor had co-founded.  
“Jarvis, search, ‘founders of Burison Co.”  
The only results he received were, “Burison Co. was co-founded by Thor Odinson and his partner, who wishes to remain anonymous.”  
“Well, this is getting nowhere. Jarvis, search ‘Loki’”  
Once again, nothing was found. This search had been about as unhelpful and vague as their conversation. Tony realized that the only way he was going to get more was to call the number, so that’s just what he did.  
“Hello? Burison Co. How may we help you?”  
Tony sighed in relief, he had worried that they would only speak Norweigan.  
“Yes, is this the New York building?”  
There was a slight pause of surprise, “No, sir. That one isn’t fully functional yet.”  
“Does it have a front office and workers?”  
“Yes, sir.” The lady sounded rather confused at where this was going.  
“Could you patch me through?”  
“You won’t be able to buy any of our products-”  
Tony cut her off, “I know, I need to talk to one of the employees working there.”  
“Okay, sir. One moment.”  
After several, long seconds, someone else came on the line.  
“Burison Co., New York. How may I help you?”  
“Yes, I need to talk to Loki Odinson.”  
There was silence on the other side. Tony started to wonder if there was something wrong with the connection. “Hello? Are you still there?”  
“Yes, sorry, sir. I will be with you in a moment.” This time Tony could hear some conversation in the background. It stopped and the man came back on, “I’m sorry, sir, I don’t know who Loki Odinson is. Do you have the wrong number?”  
“No, at least I don’t think I do. He did give me this business card. You are Burison Co. aren’t you?”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“Would it help if I told you I was Tony Stark?”  
“Um,” the man hesitated, “One moment, sir.” Tony frowned. How could Odinson not be here? This was his last lead. He’d thought that Odinson had wanted to talk again; Or was that all just another game? Another way he wrapped Tony around his finger?  
After several minutes the man came back on, “I’m sorry for the wait, sir. I’ll patch you in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about this chapter, it's kind of bland. Even Grammarly said it was bland, (That's when you know its bad). But, I felt the need to include Stark searching for Loki. Don't worry though, the next chapter should be good. Hopefully. As always, please comment if you like this, want more, have suggestions, etc. (BTW, I’m looking for more fanfics (I’ve read all my usual topics dry) if you comment and have some stuff written, I’m probably going to check it out)


	3. Tvist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a lot longer than expected. For some reason, I decided to throw Thor in this. I wasn't planning on doing that. I was originally just going to mention him now and then. Odin wasn't even going to be mentioned. But it kind of happened. I tried writing it another way, without Thor. But it didn't feel natural. So here we are, with a Thor-Loki conversation that has now brought some plot into this series. Hope you enjoy it.

Loki was surprised that the billionaire had called back so soon. He wasn’t even sure if he was going to call. He wasn’t even planning on talking to him until Stark had found his phone number. Luckily for Stark, Loki had just finished his meeting, was in a rather good mood and was heading home when the man on the phone had caught his attention. More precisely, the man on the other side of the line.  
“Would it help if I told you I was Tony Stark?” The employee furrowed his brow about to deny this statement.  
Loki tapped him on the shoulder and whispered, “Patch him into my phone. I’ll deal with him.”  
The employee nods, looking grateful and quickly complies. “I’m sorry for the wait, sir. I’ll patch you in.”  
Loki smiled at the man, then left the building. He pulled out his phone just as Stark came on. “Mr. Stark,” He greeted. “I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”  
“Enough of the formalities. What’s with the whole ‘business card to a company I don’t work for’?” The man was obviously irritated.  
Loki chuckled, “I don’t.”  
“Don’t what?” Stark practically yelled.  
“I don’t work for them, Mr. Stark.”  
“Then why would you give me that card?” Suddenly, his voice had calmed down, “Also, you can call me Tony.”  
“Well, Tony,” Loki made sure to emphasize the man’s name, “I believe I wrote down my number on the back,” he paused, smiling to himself. He had given Tony the card to give him a challenge, a puzzle of sorts. If Tony wanted to talk to him, he was going to have to work for it. Plus, he had to prove that he was worth talking to. There wasn’t a number on the back of any of his cards, but Tony didn’t know that, and he was the God of lies after all. “Unless I gave you the wrong one. I’m dreadfully sorry.”  
“You knew what you gave me.” There was a pause. “If you don’t work for them, why did you have their business card?”  
“Because it’s my business card.”  
“How can it be your business card if you don’t work there?” Loki didn’t respond. Surely, Tony would figure it out.  
“Fine, don’t answer that. How about you tell me why you don’t work there, but the employees can patch you in?” He seemed very frustrated and Loki was amused at how worked up he was.  
“I was in a meeting,” He paused when he reached his house, it was only a few blocks away from his work and he didn’t mind the walk. “How about we meet up again later?” Tony had been about to say something, but Loki had cut him off. “I have to go, but you have my number now. See you at the same place tomorrow? You’re paying.” He hung up. Stark wanted to know what Loki did for a living. Maybe he was hoping to get some money from him or to promote his company further. Maybe he wanted to get his company inside Loki’s. Stark looked like a man who had everyone under his boot, and if he saw someone with power, he needed them under him as well. What Tony didn’t seem to realize as that Loki had an even bigger boot, and Tony was an ant in comparison.  
Loki wondered how long it would take before he realized that Loki was not a mere mortal. He wondered if Tony would figure out that he helped his brother form a company, but wasn’t really involved in it and only took money from it. Sure, he had to attend some meetings here and there, but that was it. No one even knew that he and Thor were brothers. They shared the same name and that's where the similarities stopped. Loki supposed he could have changed his name to Laufeyson, but it was long and people couldn’t pronounce it right most of the time. He wondered if Tony would figure out that Loki was thousands of years old, that he lived in space. He wondered how he would react when he found out. He wondered why he cared.  
With a sigh, he opened his door and stepped inside his flat. The comforting forest green walls and black leather couches greeted him. Gold framed paintings flashed as he closed the door behind him. A vase of flowers on the glass coffee table filled the room with a sweet scent. It was quiet and peaceful; He’d put up a silencing charm to keep out the noise of the city.  
He desperately needed a shower. The day had been hot and he hated sweating. But, first, he needed to eat. He hadn’t had anything since the confrontation with Stark and his stomach was protesting. He searched his cabinet and fridge for something to eat, eventually deciding to have some leftover food from a couple of nights back. He settled down to eat and turned the TV on. His phone rang. He ignored it, hoping the person would give up; It kept ringing. He’d been ready to relax a bit and now this person wanted his attention. With a frustrated groan, he got up and looked at the caller. It was Thor; Of course, it was. What did he want now? Begrudgingly, he answered.  
Before he could say anything, Thor’s boisterous voice blasted into his ear. He pulled it away so the noise wouldn’t burst an eardrum. “Brother!”  
“Yes, Thor?” Loki made sure his tone was quiet and calm, hoping that would remind his adopted brother to be quiet as well.  
“Father is coming to Midgard!” Usually, Thor could never surprise Loki. Loki has always been more attentive than him and has always been able to make an accurate guess as to an outcome. But, this statement had caught him completely off guard.  
“What?” He spluttered. Thor must have misspoken. Or maybe the signal was weak and Loki had missed something Thor had said. Odin wanted Loki and Thor to return from Midgard. That must have been what Thor had said.  
“Father is visiting us! Isn’t this great, brother?”  
“The...the Allfather,” Loki couldn’t breathe, “is coming here?”  
“Yes! Can you not hear me, brother? I will speak louder if you need me too.” Loki didn’t answer. He was too busy panicking.  
He loved Midgard. One of the reasons for this love was that it was Odin free. His so-called father was the bane of his existence. He wished that Thor wouldn’t be here either, but he could deal with Thor from a distance, so he tolerated it. Odin never liked Loki and didn’t trust him either, so when Loki asked to go to Midgard, he had sent Thor with him. Loki hadn’t done anything to hurt the people of Midgard. Sure, he only served himself, but he never intentionally sought out others' pain. But, it was the same thing over and over. Odin never trusted him and Loki tried to get away from him. It didn’t help that Odin had hidden Loki’s true parentage from him. It didn’t help that Odin had only taken him in because he was to be a pawn.  
He’d been so much happier without the Allfather around. For the first time in a long while he’d been content, happy to be himself and no one else. And now Odin was going to ruin it all again. What if Odin made Loki go back to Asgard? Just thinking about it made Loki feel claustrophobic. Gilded statues and columns keeping him inside, holding him back. The aristocracy glaring at him, eyes never leaving him, burning a hole into his skin. The whispers behind his back; Insults thrown in his direction. Being labeled as argr just because he was good at magic and disliked fighting.  
“Loki?” Thor cut into Loki’s spiraling thoughts. Quickly, Loki tried to compose himself. His heart was still beating and dread still filled his whole being, but he was able to keep his voice from trembling.  
“Odin hasn’t been on Midgard since the war with the Jötnar. Why is he coming here now?”  
“The Allfather doesn’t need a reason to visit his sons.” For some reason, this comment made Loki mad. Thor never stopped insisting that Loki was his brother and that Odin was his father. Loki had gotten used to that. It still hurt, but not as much as it used to. And even then, Loki had been mad at Odin, not Thor. But this statement made Loki hate Thor. Rage filled him, pushing aside his dread.  
“No, Thor. He is here to visit you. He would never come to visit me unless he wanted to make sure I was behaving.”  
Thor, noticing the rage in Loki’s voice, tried to calm the situation down. “He specifically requested that both of us meet with him. If it were not so, I would not have disturbed you.”  
Loki realized that Thor was only desperately trying to keep his family together; even though he was naive and didn’t know exactly what to do. Thor was aware of Loki and Odin's relationship and was only trying to act as the mediator. Loki took a deep breath in and released it, letting his anger fade away.  
“When is he coming?”  
“In a week.”  
“Okay. Thank you, for informing me, Thor. I will be there.” Not wanting to hear anything else that Thor could say, he hung up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I promise you there will be some Tony and Loki happening next chapter. And then, I will probably write the Loki-Odin encounter. Or maybe I won't. I've never written Odin before, and maybe it'll suck and I'll decide to save you from that disaster and leave it out. Who knows? Not me. I'm just making this up as I go...  
> As always, please comment if you like this, want more, have suggestions, etc. (BTW, I’m looking for more fanfics (I’ve read all my usual topics dry) if you comment and have some stuff written, I’m probably going to check it out)  
> I forgot this part in the previous chapters, but I DON'T OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS.


	4. röð

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this took so long to post. I'm trying to have a regular updating schedule. But, I had an idea for a one-shot (You should check it out. It's called Shooting Stars.) and I had to do a LOT of research for this. Don't ask me why I decided to add random facts in here, I just did. But if you look at my history you will see about 5 hours of me searching Norse mythology and other stuff. My brain hurts now. Luckily, it is over now, and I have posted Chapter 4. Its the longest one I've written but stuffs happening now (as in, I have figured out a semi-plot) so I think it's necessary. Hope you enjoy it!  
> Disclaimer: I don't own any of these fabulous characters and probably never will. :(

Tony decided to be early. He usually never arrived early for anything. He even arrived later than ‘fashionably late’ most of the time, but today, he wanted to make an impression. Or maybe arriving early was his way of one-upping Loki. Either way, he was a lot earlier than he was used to. He walked into the cafe about 30 minutes before he and Loki were to meet up, only to find Loki sitting down at the table already. For some reason, Tony wasn’t surprised. Loki seemed like the person who’d arrive an hour early just to be the first guest. He was kind of disappointed though. The first time he tried to be early and he was still ‘late’.   
The man hadn’t noticed him and seemed invested in the book he was reading, so Tony stepped in the back of the line and waited for his order to be taken. Once he’d received his food, a doughnut, and black coffee, he headed over to the table. Loki still hadn’t looked up from his book.   
Tony sat down heavily across from him. No reaction. Tony cleared his throat, “Good morning.” That snapped the man out of his stupor.   
He blinked and looked up at Tony. “Oh, uh, good morning.” He seemed disheveled, less kept than before. He still looked as pristine as ever, but Tony noticed that his sleeve wasn’t buttoned and the outfit seemed to have been ironed in a hurry. He seemed distracted and nervous, his leg had started jogging the moment Tony had interrupted his reading.  
Not really wanting to get into Loki’s personal space, he didn’t mention the slight untidiness that didn’t fit the man. Instead, he tried for something a bit more friendly, “That must be a good book. What’s it about?”  
The man looked confused, then looked down, realizing that he had a book in his hands. He closed it and looked at the cover, “The Dream of Reason. It’s about modern application and insight on ancient Greek philosophy.”  
“Huh. Do you like it so far?”  
“I find it more of a recap of the philosophy instead of an expansion on it, so it’s not the most intriguing book. I’m not sure why I’m re-reading it…” He trailed off and once again Tony could tell that something other than this meeting was on his mind.   
Deciding that he might as well try to get an answer from him he leaned forward, a look of slight concern on his face. “You okay?”  
Loki frowned at him. “Yes. I’m fine.”  
“You seem a little,” Tony flicked his hand outward, “distracted. If you didn’t want to meet up, you could have just said so.” He hoped that wasn’t the case. He had been looking forward to another match with the man. But maybe Loki wasn’t as interested as Tony was.  
“No. It's not that. My, uh,” He paused awkwardly, running his hand through his hair. Tony was about to tell the man that he didn’t have to explain himself when he continued. “My father is coming to visit my brother and me.”  
Tony frowned. It seemed that Loki had some daddy issues. Tony understood; He and his father had never been close. He never liked to talk about it with others, so he tried to lighten the mood. “Let me guess, good ol’ dad is Odin. And, don’t tell me, dear brother is Thor.” He laughed but paused when Loki didn’t seem amused. “Wait, are you serious? That’s their names?”  
Loki gave him a slight smile, “Unfortunately.”  
“I can see a trend going on here. Were your grandparents invested in mythology or something?”  
“Or something.” For some reason, the vague answers and Tony’s questions didn’t seem to please Loki as much as it had before. Trying desperately to bring the game back into the conversation, he started to make guesses at what the ‘or something’ could be.  
He hummed, “Your ancestors were Vikings and you’re actually Loki the third.” That comment made the man smile, shaking his head.  
Triumphantly, Tony continued, “Or,” he drew the word out, a teasing smile playing on his face, “Odin and Thor are nicknames, and you were lying about Loki being your real name. Is Thor short for Hawthorn or Theodore?” The man chuckled, but Tony wasn’t paying attention. The name Thor was familiar. Not familiar as in, God of Thunder, the dude from mythology; but more of a recent idea or something. Loki Odinson. Thor Odinson, the guy who ran Burison Co. Tony had assumed that Odinson was just a common last name for Norwegians. He didn’t know any personally, other than Loki, and he hadn’t looked it up.  
He looked at Loki, studying him, trying to call back the picture of Thor. They looked nothing alike. He’d meet people who didn’t look much like each other who were related, but there was always something; A nose, ear, eyes, cheekbones. But nothing stood out. They were both pale, but Loki was as white as paper. Thor had a broader face and shoulders. Loki was slender with higher cheekbones. They were both tall, but Thor was much taller. Loki had black hair and green eyes, Thor blonde and blue. “Thor Odinson is your brother? The Thor Odinson who founded Burison Co.? The company you don’t work for?”  
Loki sighed, “Yes, that Thor.”  
“But…” He trailed off.   
Loki smiled grimly, continuing his sentence. “We don’t look alike? I’m adopted. And the reason I don’t work for the company is that it works for me.” He hesitated, “Sort of.”  
This didn’t seem like a safe alley to go down, so Tony decided to stick to names, “So if your name is Loki Odinson. And your brother’s name is Thor Odinson. Is your father’s name Odin Odinson? That seems redundant.”  
Loki shook his head, “No. Odin Borrson. And his father was Borr Burison.”  
Tony frowned, “Didn’t people stop changing their last names based on their father’s name a long time ago?”  
“Yes.”  
“Wait, you’re grandfather’s name was Burison? Did he come up with the idea for your company?”  
Loki chuckled, as though Tony was missing something and he found it amusing, “No, he was born long before flight was ever discovered.”  
“But he’s only a couple of generations back. He must have been born around the 1930s or 40s. Flight was discovered in the early 1900s.”  
Loki only looked at him. Once again, he felt like he was missing something, that he had all the pieces but he wasn’t putting them together right. “Okay, then when was he born?”  
The man frowned, but, to Tony’s surprise responded rather quickly, “I’m pretty sure it was around what you would call, 120 BC, probably when that Greek physician Asclepiades was born.”  
“Okay...and if that's when your grandfather was born, assuming you're telling the truth,” He shook his head laughing. Loki was teasing him, he had to be. But at least he didn’t seem as distracted as before. It was surprising that he could recall facts about that period; Unless he was lying about that as well, but Tony didn’t feel like fact-checking him right now. “When were you born?”  
“Well, if I’m being dishonest, then 1981.”  
“If you were honest?”  
The man shrugged, “Around 970. I’m pretty sure that's during the Byzantine-Arab Wars.”  
“And you’re brother?” Loki seemed to like talking about history, which made sense. He had been reading a book about Greek Philosophy, apparently, one he’d read more than once. So why wouldn’t he know about other things like random history facts and periods?  
“Around the same time, Arthur defeated the Saxons. The 520s, I think.”  
“Well then. You’re old aren’t you?”  
He chuckled, “You could say so.”  
“If you’re this old, why are you telling me? I’d probably keep it a secret so people don’t freak out.” Tony was trying to pressure Loki into telling him he was just making it all up. He couldn’t be that old, could he? Tony had seen a lot of weird things after he became Iron Man, so it was hard to not believe this story. His whole body language screamed that he was telling the truth.  
“I’m tired of pretending, Tony. What does it even matter anyway? My father is going to send me away and you’ll never see or hear from me again. No one on Midgard will.” He sighed.   
Tony blinked, he seemed depressed. He really should be bringing this up, but Loki’s father was obviously in the front of the man’s mind. Everything was going to end up leading back to this. Putting aside the age thing, Tony leaned forward, making sure Loki could tell he was here to listen. This startled Tony, he never liked to listen to people. Why was he so willing to change for this man. Deciding to save that thought for later, he asked, “Why’s that?”  
Loki looked at him in surprise, but answered anyway, “He always does. He doesn’t trust me; He thinks that I will hurt people. First, it was with the Vikings,” He smiled, his eyes growing distant, “They liked my magic, were awed by it, unlike my kinsfolk.” His expression soured but quickly changed back, “I had fun with them, the most fun I’d had in ages. I told them stories and they would sit and listen, their eyes open in wonder and intrigue. No one listened to me like that in Asgard.”   
Before Tony could ask what Asgard was, he continued, “I loved it there. It was cold, but not too cold. It was simple, nothing like the golden palace I lived in. But my father dislikes my magic and he finds it dangerous. One day he came down to see me showing the Vikings how to engrave protection runes on wood so they could be safe. He can’t read runes and thought I was tricking them and going to harm them. I tried to explain it to him, but he didn’t listen. I was sent back to that wretched palace. Now he is coming back again and he will most surely force me to leave.”   
He sighed and looked at his watch. “This was a nice talk, Tony. I hope I will be able to see you again, but I have to go and pack.” He stood up, grabbed his book, and left.  
Tony couldn’t say anything, he wasn’t sure what he would say. Loki was desperately embracing his namesake, using Norse runes and symbols, talking about history like he’d been there, and Vikings like he had met them. He must be insane. Unless he wasn’t. Had he been telling the truth this whole time? Tony thought back to their first conversation and all the vague answers he had received. His name was close enough to Norweigan, he was touchy about Loki’s god title, he wasn’t exactly named after the mischief god, and he wasn’t exactly from around here.   
He stopped; The last thing Loki had said to him that day was, ‘How else did you guess the origin of my name?’. Tony had guessed the origin of his name by remembering that Loki was the Norse god of mischief. Loki had implied that he had heard of him before. Wasn’t Loki’s adopted father Odin? Could this man be a god? No, Tony didn’t believe any god, Norse or otherwise. There must be another explanation, just one he couldn’t think of. Deciding that he needed to take his mind off of this and come back to it later, he got up and quickly headed home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have some good news and bad news. The good news is that I have finished school and now have a whole lot more time to write! The bad news is that I won't have a laptop soon; I've been using the one my school gave me this whole time and because the school year is over, I have to return it. I'm in the middle of trying to get a new one, but it might take a while. Because of this, I'm not sure when I will be updating. Super sorry about that, but I will try to get something out if I can. Please leave a comment or a kudos. Any form of review is appreciated, criticisms or praise, I don't care.


	5. Drasl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He needed to be focused on the dilemma at hand, his father; Who was several minutes late. They’d been standing at attention for at least half an hour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry this chapter took so long to write and is shorter than usual, but as I mentioned in my last chapter, I don’t have my laptop and have been relying on the family computer, which is rarely open for long. It's slow going, but it’s finally done. I’ll try to get the next chapter out soon, but no promises.   
> I hope you enjoy it.  
> I don't own any of this, unfortunately. The only thing that's mine is the plot.

Loki tried to suppress the thousands of emotions scrambling around for attention as he waited, standing next to Thor, for his father to arrive.   
It was cold out, not like it bothered Loki, but Thor seemed to be a little put-off by it, despite the several layers of armor and other ceremonial garb draped around him. Their home on Asgard was warm most of the year; Winter lasted only a month, and it never got cold enough for someone to be uncomfortable. The first time they arrived on Midgard, it had been at the original site of the battle with the Jotuns, in a freezing tundra known as Norway. It was cold, but nothing an immortal couldn’t handle; It was just a shocking difference. After entertaining the mortals for several years, they stopped coming into contact with them.   
As the planets moved and re-aligned, the place for the Bifröst opening moved to New Mexico; a rather drastic difference from the cold northern wasteland they were used to. Of course, the Bifröst could take them to any place on Midgard, but the default opening moved around as the universe shifted.   
As their main operations were located in Norway, a tribute to the primitive people they met long ago, the Allfather would direct the Bifröst here. Loki believed that the usual place for the Bifröst was located somewhere in southern Africa.  
Loki shook his head, clearing his mind. He needed to be focused on the dilemma at hand, his father; Who was several minutes late. They’d been standing at attention for at least half an hour. He was getting restless, his mischievous nature wouldn’t let him stand still for much longer. Thor wasn’t faring well either, he had always been the one who wanted action and movement, Loki on the other hand, had learned the importance of patience and became very adept at it. Nevertheless, neither of them was any good at standing still in the middle of a barren, frozen, tundra.  
Loki turned to his brother, about to suggest they sit down, or do something, anything, then just stand here and let his worry build up until he boiled over when the clouds above them started collecting together. They swirled around each other, faster and faster, creating a cyclone that lowered down toward the ground. Then with a sharp crash and the telltale noise that was distinct only to the Bifröst, a large beam of rainbow light hit the ground, searing an intricate design in the rock hard earth. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the beam vanished, and clouds dissipated. Standing where the anomaly had just happened was the Allfather in all his glory, decked in his golden and silver robes and armor.  
Thor and Loki clapped their right arm over their chest and knelt. “Rise, my sons,” Odin's voice rang out in the silence. They obeyed as he walked toward them. “Shall we go to a more comfortable accommodation?” Nodding in agreement, they led their father away.  
When they reached the large office building that belonged to Burison Co. the receptionist led them to a private conference room giving Thor a small smile. Loki furrowed his brow, glowering at the woman, being near his father sending him into a foul mood. The heavy wooden doors slammed behind them. Odin claimed the seat at the head of the table, Thor to his right, and Loki to his left.  
They sat there in awkward silence for a while. Loki wasn’t going to be the one to break it, and as they sat there he thought how open communication had never been his adoptive family's forte. His mind wandered again, to how his life would have turned out if Odin had only told him the truth. He felt like things would be better, maybe he’d be happy on Asgard. But the past is the past, and as the god of time, he knew there was no changing it.  
Finally, Odin cleared his throat. “My sons,” Loki bristled, and Odin gave him a cool glare, daring him to contradict the statement. Loki didn’t want to be here any longer than he had to, so he just glared back. Odin continued. “I have called you here to warn you. Despite the strength of the Einherjar who were posted outside the crypts, several Draugar have risen and escaped into the branches of Yggdrasil through the Bifröst.”  
Thor choked, “Draugar?”  
Loki just stared at Odin, his sour thoughts all but forgotten. The Draugar hadn’t been around for several years, especially since they now understood how they came to be. They took great precautions to make sure no corpse was raised; burning some of the bodies, burying the rest horizontally, embedding silver weapons inside the corpse’s chests, weaving straw inside of the shrouds, and posting guards at crypts. Most of their funeral traditions were there to ensure the Draugar never came back.  
The Draugar were hard to kill, as they didn’t feel pain or tire like the living. The only real way to make sure they didn’t come back was to destroy their bodies, usually by burning them and scattering their ashes. If some had risen, the nine realms were going to be in trouble.  
“How did they rise?” Loki asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.  
“All the Einherjar who were present are dead, but my theory is they were raised by Eið.”  
“Eið? Who did they make an oath to in the living? Why would they even make an oath that strong? Isn’t that illegal?” Thor rattled off questions faster than Odin could answer. When he stopped, probably trying to think of more, Odin only answered one of his queries.   
“I believe they swore themselves to Gámr. You see the missing bodies were former priests of Vahala, part of a sect that deals with Niflheim and Hel. I fear they may have developed a, uh, like toward Glámr.” Glámr was a Draugr, who caused a lot of trouble in the stories that Thor and Loki grew up with. One of the most well-known tales was how he cursed the hero, Grettis, to become a Draugr, right before he was burned and his ashes scattered in the wind.  
“And they swore themselves to him with a binding oath.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. A binding oath, or Eið, was only made if one was intending to keep it. If one broke their Eið, they would die and their soul would be forever punished in Niflheim. The Greeks were also aware of this binding oath, but instead, they called it swearing on the Styx. Several other cultures were aware of Eið, all with different names for it. It was old and unbreakable magic, one that bound beyond death. If Glámr called for them from Niflheim, they would rise from the dead as Draugr.   
Odin nodded, “I am sending out more Einherjar to find them, but Heimdallr can’t see them. The last he saw of them they were heading toward Niflheim. As you know, Niflheim is closer to Midgard than Asgard is, so there is a chance that some Draugr will come here. I hope you will be prepared to stop them.”  
Loki nodded along with Thor. Mortals weren’t equipped to deal with Draugar and their magic.  
“Of course. Is that all, Father?” Thor asked, leaning forward.  
“Yes, Thor. I have been gone from my throne for long enough and I have a kingdom to run.” The three stood up and left the room. The receptionist wasn’t at the front desk as they walked past. They were silent as they returned to the Bifröst opening, not because they didn’t want to talk, but because they were still shocked. If the Draugar were back, the nine realms were in danger, and neither of them wanted to deal with war.   
Loki was so lost in thought about this news that he didn’t even realize that Odin had left. Thor nudged him, and they both silently trudged back to the building for the second time that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you may have noticed that I switched between Draugr and Draugar. Just to clarify the reason for this, Draugar is the plural of Draugr.  
> A random thing that I’d like to address is how I’ve called Loki the god of time. I’m not sure if Norse mythology has a god of time, or if Loki is the god of time, and I don’t feel like researching it (I swear I’ve spent more time researching than writing for this work). Nevertheless, I thought it fit. I’d love to explain all the other names I've given Loki, but I think this one is a bit more relevant and in need of explanation. After some research on seiðr, I found that it isn’t just magic, like most works I’ve read make it out to be, it is the ability to tell and shape the future. (There is a whole lot more history to this, but I’ll spare you and not bring it up Knowing that Loki is a user of seiðr, I thought it fitting to make it his title.  
> Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. As always I appreciate any feedback, criticism, praise, or otherwise.


	6. Jú

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been a while since I last posted, but I hit a huge writers block. Luckily, after watching Infinity War with my brother (who hadn't seen it yet) and crying over Loki's death in the beginning, my creative juices started to flow again. As you probably noticed in the last chapter, the creature known as plot has emerged from its dark cave and graced its presence on this story. This story, while still going to be a lot of Tony and Loki throwing thoughts and sarcasm at each other, is now part of a bigger picture! I'm so proud of my baby for evolving. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter!  
> Disclaimer: Anything you recognize isn't mine.

Tony tried to pay attention, he really did, but he’d been having an unusually hard time ever since last week. Last week, the last time he’d seen Loki. At that thought, his mind drifted off again, ideas and possibilities of gods and myths and space and magic and-

“Stark.” A ruff, annoyed voice broke him out of his daydreaming. Tony blinked and looked at the man at the head of the table. “I’m sorry, was this meeting at a bad time?” Nick Fury teased, or Tony thought he was teasing, it was hard to tell with the man. 

He was about to answer in his usual way, ‘Actually, it is; How about we reschedule this to...Never?’, when Pepper shot him a look. So he grinned, knowing it looked fake and muttered through his teeth, “I’m sorry, what were we talking about again?” 

At Fury’s flat glare, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. They’d been at this for two hours, and he still had no real idea what was going on. He knew they were here to discuss his contribution to S.H.I.E.L.D’s budget, but that was about it. He usually knew the gist of whatever meeting he was attending, but he was still trying to wrap his mind around what Loki had implied. He started to drift off into his thoughts again when Pepper tapped him on his shoulder.

“Tony, are you okay? You’ve been out of it all week.” He flinched at the touch, startled that she was now standing next to him. He looked from her to Fury, who seemed to be concerned too. 

He gave his fiance a half-grin. “I’m fine. I just have a lot on my mind and I need to figure it out.” He wondered if he should tell them about his newfound discovery. Fury probably already knew though. He was the angry pirate captain of a flying ship full of super spies and assassins that collected and knew information about everyone and thing. Why wouldn’t he know about gods, too? Tony turned and looked at Fury suspiciously, narrowing his eyes. Fury returned the look.

Tony wasn’t going to back down and started a glaring contest with Fury. He was about to make a snarky remark about how Fury was cheating by only staring with only one eye, when the helicarrier tipped about 30 degrees to the left then immediately righted itself. Seriously, who hosts meetings on a giant, flying machine? All the turbulence would cause everyone’s coffee to promptly leave the cup and meet the stacks’ paperwork. That made Tony pause; He’d been the helicarrier before, several times actually, and never once had there been any turbulence. 

A glance at Fury’s worried face, he was scowling like he always was but Tony was pretty sure he was worried, confirmed Tony’s suspicions. “Is that something I should worry about?” He asked innocently.

Fury glanced at him with his one eye, totally calm and composed. “Probably not.” Yeah, Tony was totally on track, Fury was definitely worried about something. “If you’ll excuse me, I should see what's going on. I’ll call you if I need your help.”

With that Fury left the room, his leather trench coat trailing dramatically behind him and the hydraulic doors hissing shut ominously. Yeesh, and people thought he had a thing for theatrics?

All existential crises forgotten about, Tony turned to Pepper. She looked so beautifully smart in that blouse and pencil skirt, her notes sitting on her lap. He got a sudden urge to kiss her, but pushed it down. She smiled at him sweetly, her pen tapping absently on the table, “So what’s been on your mind?”

Tony blinked, realizing that he’d been staring, without the excuse of a contest. “Oh, um, I, you know, was just thinking of new stuff to, um, build.” He whacked himself in his mind, with how great he was at public speaking he should have been able to come up with something a bit more eloquent.

“Yeah?”

He nodded his head, averting his gaze and looking out the window. It wasn’t hard to pretend that he was admiring the view, the sun streamed across the fluffy clouds causing the shadows to stretch and clash with the light.

“Tony?” He hummed in response. “What are you not telling me?”

“Nothing, there’s nothing that I haven’t told you about, why do you ask?”

“Tony, I’m serious about this. You’ve been staring off into space all week!” 

Before Tony could answer, a gunshot rang out, followed by several shouts. Tony stood up, grabbing Mark V in its briefcase form. “Hold that thought,” He then darted out of the room.

Following the noise of shouts, gunshots, and general mayhem, Tony eventually found himself on the deck. He paused, staring at the odd scene before him. A couple thousand agents were shooting frantically at a small handful of staggering people with swords. He squinted, trying to get a better look at them, and reeled back in horror. 

They were skeletal beings, with rotting flesh stretched between their limbs. Grimy armor adorned the body and sickly green light flickered from their empty eye sockets. Whenever a bullet punctured the stretched skin the wound would glow the same green and heal. The small bullets weren’t going to do anything against these creatures. 

Some agents, coming to the same conclusion as him, holstered their guns and pulled out knives instead. One agent even had a wicked looking sword. As they charged the things, Tony activated his suit, letting it wrap around him until he was covered, and dove into the battle. He quickly found out that his repulsors were much more effective than bullets. After only a few more minutes, the deck was scattered with the decapitated, slightly scalded remains of the demon spawn.

He landed and peeled the suit off of himself. As it retracted back into its briefcase form Tony stalked off to find Fury. Eventually, he found him directing some agents to take the demon thing inside for ‘further inspection’.

“What happened to calling me if you needed help?” Tony greeted, following behind him into the carrier. 

“I said I’d call if I needed your help.” Fury replied, stepping into a large sterile room and motioning the agents to set the thing down on the metal table in the middle.

Tony huffed, “Well, it seemed like you needed me,” he gestured to the large, very obvious, repulsor blast hole in the chest cavity of the thing.

Fury ignored him and turned to one of the agents who was looking the beast over. “Agent Morse, what is this thing?”

“It’s hard to say for sure, but it is dead.”

“Yes, we killed it,” Tony smirked.

“Yes, but no, this was dead before it was killed. The flesh is close to decomposing and there are no vital organs inside of it.” She pushed some of the armor away to show that there was, in fact, nothing underneath the rib cage. “We’ll need to run some more tests to decide its origin,” 

Another agent cut in, “This armor seems to have Norse descent. See those markings there?” His fingers traced a small engraving on the breastplate. “That is the rune for protection, commonly put on armor. And this symbol here,” He pointed to another one, “is the valknut, a symbol for those who die in battle, suggesting that whoever's armor this was, was buried with it.”

Tony froze; Norse armor? A valknut? This was too much of a coincidence. Shakily, he stood up and left the room, no one noticing his absence. He pulled out his phone and hastily dialed Loki’s number. “Come on, come on, pick up…” He muttered under his breath, pacing the hallway. On the last ring, Loki picked up. 

“Stark?”

“Oh, thank goddess, Loki. I have a slight problem. And several questions.”

“Now really isn’t the time, Stark, I’m in the middle of something.”

“Yeah, well I think what I need is a little more important.”

Loki sighed, “What is it?”

“So, um, you’re a god, right?”

“No. I’m not.”

Tony blinked, “But…”

“Your ancestors saw us as gods, but we are not.”

“Oh, yeah well, um, what parts of the mythology are true?”

“Most of them, but they are rather exaggerated.”

“So like, are there actually walking dead people?”

There was a sharp intake of breath, “The Draugr? Yes, they are real. Unfortunately.”

“Do they happen to look like skeletons, wear old Norse armor, and glow green on the inside?”

“Stark...how do you know this?”

“Well, several just appeared a bit ago and we had to take them out.”

“Bqllr,” Loki cursed, or at least Tony thought it was a curse, he didn’t know Norse or Icelandic, or whatever language that was. He heard some talking off the phone, “Thor, they’ve arrived on Midgard.” “Already?” “It seems so, he described them rather accurately.” “Fretr, this isn’t good. I thought we’d have some time to prepare.” Loki hummed in agreement. “Tony, where are the bodies?”

“Um, one’s in the inspection room being dissected I think. The others are probably still on the deck. Why?”

“How long has it been since you fought them?”

“Half an hour maybe.”

“Daufi,” He cursed again, “You need to burn them and toss their ashes into the sea. It’s the only way to get rid of them.”

“What do you mean? We already killed them.”

“Death is beyond the Draugr. They will keep coming back alive unless you make it physically impossible for them to do so. You need to burn them as soon as possible, they usually come back after 40 minutes or so.” He paused and started talking to whoever was on the other side of the phone, but this time Tony couldn’t hear him.

As he waited, Tony mulled over what Loki just told him. It seemed as though Draugr were a pretty big threat. With a sigh, he stood up from where he’d been leaning against the wall and entered the inspection room. His phone still cradled against his ear, Tony tapped Fury on the shoulder.

“You need to burn the bodies and toss the ashes into the sea.”

“Stark? Why would we do that?” The spy said, turning around to glare at him.

“Those are Draugr or something like that, Norse is hard to pronounce. The only way to get rid of them is to burn them, apparently.”

Fury looked at the man who’d identified the armor, “Is this true?”

“Well, if Norse mythology is true, then yes. But it's just a myth.”

Tony sighed, “Are you really going to be dismissing the myth when some weird undead Norse warriors who fit the description of Draugr perfectly appear randomly on your ship?”

The female agent, Morse, looked up, “He’s got a point, director.”

Fury grunted, gesturing for the agents to carry out the order. “And how do you know all of this, Stark?”

“I have a contact who's an expert on this kind of stuff.”

Suddenly, Loki was back on the phone, “Tony, where are you?”

Tony looked at Fury, “Where are we right now?”

“You’re not giving our position away to a civilian, Stark.” Fury growled.

Tony held the phone closer to his ear, “I have no idea, the main pirate spy thinks that you’re going to blow us up or something.”

“Well, we need to know to find out where they came from,”

Tony hummed in confrontation, “Alright, Jarv?”

“Yes, sir?” A voice from the ceiling asked.

Fury started, “You installed your A.I. on my ship!?”

Tony chose to ignore him. “Where are we right now? Oh, and what’s our speed and trajectory?”

“You are currently over Miami, going around 650 mph northwest.”

“Thanks. You got that?” He asked Loki.

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a bit. Tell your friends not to shoot at us.”

“Got it.” Loki hung up and Tony put his phone back in his pocket, giving Fury a small smirk, “My friend is going to be here in a minute. I’d like it if you didn’t shoot at him when he arrives, Thanks.” Without waiting for an answer, Tony strolled from the room, heading to the room he left Pepper in. He couldn’t wait for her to meet Loki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. That happened. I hope you liked this chapter, I had fun writing it. It's a bit longer, but only because it's mostly dialog in the end. I wasn't sure how to end it, but I think I did a good job.   
> I'm back at school again (YAY!) and taking college classes. This semester is pretty chill and I have my laptop again, so I'll probably be able to post frequently.  
> Some things to look forward to 1. Next chapter, because stuff is going to happen, and a lot of it, and 2. A new story?? I might start posting a new story from this AU. I've noticed that while this story was supposed to be a bunch of talking between Tony and Loki, that didn't happen, mainly because there's only so much for them to talk about. Soooooo after I post the next chapter, I might start doing a story with interconnected one-shots with Loki and his interactions with the Avengers.

**Author's Note:**

> I had fun writing this. I have no plot for anything further, but I feel I'd be okay with writing a part two to this or something. I'm not going to for now, as I need to work on Chapter 2 for my other story. If you want a continuation of this, have an idea for a plot, or just liked it please comment.


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